Don't Say I Didn't Tell You So.

The administration already knows we've lost in Iraq. The Iraqis know this also. The Iraqis who aid and abet our cause, from the highest officials to the lowliest clerk and driver, know that when we leave, their lives won't be worth shit. That's why they are cutting deals now with their American masters for when the inevitable happens.

It can't be helped. It can't be stopped. When we leave Iraq, we will be taking them with us. We have already promised, in order to secure their dubious loyalty. Their parents too. Wives and families, of course. Siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles can't be forgotten. Maybe a few other countries will take in a token population. Most of them will come to America. Hundreds of thousands, perhaps a million or more Iraqis will be resettled here in America. You think we have problems with the muslim population now, just wait.

Most of them will want to come to Southern California. It can't be helped. We are the Zona Libre of the nation. They'll probably be worth it for the food alone. Then there will be the girls. We'll raise them up on protein, rock and roll, and good dental care. In 15 or 20 years they should be something to see. I hope my eyesight holds up.

The world turns. Hope springs eternal.

But He Does Got A Purty Mouth

I saw Tom DeLay on Meet the Press this morning. He was his usual smug, smarmy, bullying self. He said he had to question the patriotism of anyone who voiced opposition to the war in Iraq. Once embarked upon a war, he said, it is incumbant upon us all to pull together. He implies that anyone who doesn't is a traitor. Simple as that.

I'm hearing this kind of sentiment more and more from voices on the Right. That there is no room for dissent on the issue of the war in Iraq. That anything less than unqualified support does insult and injury to the troops in the field and aids and abets the enemy.

I've never liked Tom DeLay. He's all bluster and hair oil. A failed rat killer and dirty politican. That Republicans see him as a leader and spokesman says reams about the state of partisan politics in the country today.

Patriotism is about the esteem and love which we hold for the country which has nurtured us so well. It's fair to assume that this love manifests itself in different ways, in different people. While I personally dispise Tom Delay and believe he is a felon and should do hard time, I do not question his patriotism. That he questions mine does not trouble me. He is a redneck mutant. Kind of like that little boy in Deliverance, only without the banjo.